Transportation Solutions

By Denise D'Anne

Public transportation in San Francisco is in a crisis. There are many solutions and options to increase public acceptance of using public transit and leave their cars at home.

My proposal includes many elements to reducing congestion and to encourage people to get out of their cars:

1. A disincentive to driving: One method is to charge for parking on city owned and leased property which is included in a measure I authored for the 2001 ballot. This measure will affect city administrator and wealthy contributors who now enjoy free parking at taxpayer expense. It will also generate approximately $8 million in revenue for the City;
2. Widely publicize the Commuter Check program that reduces public transportation fares by up to 40%.
3. Negotiate free fast passes as a benefit for City employees.
4. Close off Market Street to traffic and make it into a giant outdoor mall akin to similar spaces in Europe.
5. Free Muni services in the downtown business core.
6. Pass a downtown transit assessment fee to be paid for by current downtown business and corporations.
7. Provide for 4 way stop lights to allow pedestrians the safety of crossing streets.
8. Install street calming devices to slow traffic and thereby discourage driving,
9. Place a moratorium on any new garage structures.
10.Provide for dedicated lanes for Muni buses.
11.Increase the number of buses.
12.Increase the frequency of buses especially during commute hours.
13.Experiment with shuttle buses that are on call for passenger pickup to transit lines.
14.Provide for more bicycle lanes that are secure. This will require building barriers to protect bicyclists.
15.Encourage the community automobile sharing facilities in all communities.
16.Encourage walking.
17.Devise ways to provide incentives for not driving.
18.Transbay Terminal should remain in its present location and become a more important regional transit hub that it is.
19.Caltrain should extend to Transbay Terminal and electrify its lines. The stalling must end and this important regional transit resource developed to its fullest.
20.Extend to 24 hours BART operations.
21.Extend to 24 hours MUNI operations using shuttle type vehicles during late evening.
22.Provide a one-pass system for regional transit. San Francisco Fast Passes on BART must continue. Muni's payment to BART should be reduced, since the incremental cost to BART is minimal. Extend Senior Fast Passes to include BART.

The cost of not taking action on use of cars will only increase more deaths on our streets. It will devastate our environment by accelerating what is already acknowledged as global warming. We will continue to pay a high price, not borne by automobile owners, for emergency services, infrastructure repairs and maintenance, lost time on the job for those who become accident victims and worse for those who die needlessly from auto accidents.